I woke up early this Saturday morning. I'd never say this out loud, but I'm eager to go to Adriano's house. I missed him in all the recent chaos. It would've been nice to have him along with us and crack jokes. Makai used to be like that, and I know he's trying to get back into that habit, but he's changed too much. He holds resentment towards his parents for covering up the secret of Reyna, he hates Enzo, he was tortured, and he was beaten. Makai will never be the same again, but I give him legendary props for trying.
I woke up early this Saturday morning. I'd never say this out loud, but I'm eager to go to Adriano's house. I missed him in all the recent chaos. It would've been nice to have him along with us and crack jokes. Makai used to be like that, and I know he's trying to get back into that habit, but he's changed too much. He holds resentment towards his parents for covering up the secret of Reyna, he hates Enzo, he was tortured, and he was beaten. Makai will never be the same again, but I give him legendary props for trying.
I was never really close with Reyna's clique, but I've seen the toll a close death causes. And I've seen the toll multiple close deaths causes. It breaks you down and puts you to the ultimate test. Will you break, or will you adapt?
Makai has broken. He's trying to fix himself, but once you break, you're never the same again.
Reyna had gone through some major turmoil, but she adapted. It explains her drive to hunt the killer, as well as her apathy towards the death of her father.
In my opinion, neither of those things is better than the other. When you break, you experience an overwhelming weakness that sweeps you off your feet and gives you a swift kick in the balls. But then you have the opportunity to grow and become a new person that you never thought you could be. It's a chance at rebirth.
When you adopt, you discover things about yourself that you never knew existed. This goes both ways; you could be a whole lot stronger than you judged yourself to be, for example. Or, you could be a lot weaker. Adapting is bending yourself to fit the situation, and it's only a matter of time until you can't bend anymore.
So maybe, in the end, we all break. It doesn't matter how we handle the situations we are presented with, we all break in the end. Wow, what a depressing epiphany.
Anyways, I was busy being excited for tonight.
I've no idea what to do, being that it isn't even afternoon yet. I've never been one for shopping, but maybe I should get a new outfit? New makeup? Maybe just an accessory? I imagine Allister or Della would have been good at this stuff, but I can't exactly ask them about this, can I?
Oh well. I guess Reyna will have to do.
You: Hey, can we go to the mall? I want to get something for Adriano's...
Reyna: Sounds good, but I have to tell you that the sheriff hired a detective to follow us.
You: What can a detective do that a psychopathic deputy fiancé can't?
Reyna: My point exactly. I'll meet you at your house.
You: Sweet.
Reyna gets here about an hour later, at which that time I ate breakfast and got changed. She knocks on the door and I shout for her to come in. I prepare for a giant cloud of angst with yellow eyes to come in with her, but for once, Reyna is Enzo-less.
"Reyna! It's just you," I say, sounding more pleased than normal. "I mean, uh...'sup?"
"You don't have to act like you're not Team Enzo," she teases, brushing her bangs behind her ears. "Your house is comfy."
"No, I like him. He's cool. It's just that I've never had much time to hang out with you other than tutoring. It'll be nice to just one-on-one together," I elaborate. "And thanks."
"So you're looking for party favours, or looking to be the favour of the party?" Reynainquires. Looking at her, I almost gape in awe. I've been talking about breaking and adapting, and looking at Reyna is like looking at my greatest creation. Reyna looks like she always did before the killings, but now she's obtained an air of confidence. Her eyes have more authority in them and her stance is broad – sure and steady. Before, she made herself seem small and meek. But also before, she thought she was just that amidst all the strong personalities she surrounded herself with. Reyna has evolved into someone who knows who they are, what they want, and how they're going to get it.
"Be the favour of the party," I admit, snatching my keys and grabbing some water.
"Heads up," I call, tossing the bottle to her.
With cat-like reflexes, she catches it. "Thanks."
"So where's this detective you mentioned?"
"In his car outside," Reyna grumbles, rolling her grey eyes. "He's not a real detective. I call him Desk Guy. He used to be an office man at the station, but now he's following us to call for backup if anything happens."
I go to the living room window and open space between the blinds, peeking my eyes outside. In a white car, eating an ice cream cone in the driver's seat is a golden-haired hazel-eyed babe. He's probably klutzy, by the way, he fidgets and jerkily moves. My theory is proved when the ice cream scoop falls onto his pants. Shamelessly, I watch as he scoops it back into the cone and finishes it off. Afterwards, he wipes his bottoms with an abundance of napkins.
"Well, he definitely isn't a field specialist," I note. "What's the cutie's name?"
"Desk Guy also goes by the name Grayson," she informs. "He trips over his own two feet, falls over the air, runs into everything he can touch, and drops anything he holds."
"Sounds fun," I laugh. "Now let's go."
We exit the house and Grayson gets out, a pink stain on his white pants. "Hey, where are you guys going?"
"To the mall," Reyna answers.
"For what?" Grayson inquires, cowering a little when he sees me. "And are all your friends this scary?"
"Maybe you're just chicken," Reyna jokes. "And we're going to get outfits for a party tonight."
"Sheriff said you should stay low and not do anything too exciting," Grayson reminds her. Rather than being assertive, his expression looks more worried that Reyna just doesn't care.
"You hear that?" Reyna inquires. "It started with a sh and ended with an ould. The word is 'should' and can be typically used as a suggestion – not an order. But if you want, you can stay here and get another ice cream cone."
Grayson sighs and bites his lip with apprehension. "Fine. But at the first sign of trouble, I'm calling in backup."
"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill," Reyna sighs. "Come on, Kellin."
"Bye," I wave to the officer.
He blushes a bit before shifting his weight between his feet. "I'll be right behind you."
Reyna and I get in the car, me behind the wheel. "Grayson's a cutie," I say.
She shrugs. "I guess."
"Can I ask you something?" I look to her as we head out on the road.
"Sure," Reyna agrees, nodding.
"Are you still mad at me for when I attacked you with a crowbar?
Reyna laughs out loud. She laughs as if I never gave her a minor fracture or wished she was dead. "Kellin...I have been stabbed and slashed by a killer in a church. I've had mysterious messages and audio CD's saying things about myself that I didn't even know. My friends have been picked off one by one. You retaliating against me for killing someone you once had feelings for like a normal person is the least of my worries. It's the most normal thing that's happened to me."
Though she's forgiven me, I still feel wrong. "I don't forgive myself," I admit. "I'm sorry."
"We waste a lot of breath saying words that don't change anything," Reyna says, schooling the wisdom schoolmaster.
"Wise words, Copulas. Wise words."
"So...did you want to get Grayson's number? Or do you want me to get it for you?"
Slyly, I laugh and shift my gaze to Reyna, who coyly smiles my way. "Watch the master, Reyna. Although you're the one who's engaged...how did that happen?"
"It was picture-perfect," she sighs with content, but something about her tone seems off.
"But?" "I know I shouldn't be worried about it, but do you think we're moving too fast?"
Shaking my head, I answer her. "I don't believe in too fast or too slow. If you're both comfortable with how everything has gone, and you both know everything about each other that you need to know, then you're at the right place. And in times like these, where there's an intense moment every hour you're awake and sleeping, bonding happens at ten times the speed it normally does. The real 'you come out in a time of panic. It's what makes people break or adapt."
Comprehensively, Reyna nods. "That was well put."
"I don't mean to say this negatively, but...Enzo is like your guard dog, and it'spretty cute the way he wants you to stay safe and well. It's like, everyone's terrified of himbecause he's big and angry, but when it comes to you, he's soft and sweet." I laugh when amemory hits me. "You know, when Adriano called Enzo to come down to 4512 when wewere duelling, he was worried about why you were calling so late. The first thing he did was ask if you were okay. But when Enzo found out it was Adriano and not you, he went fromzero to a hundred at the drop of a pin. He got all frenzied and accusatory andthreatening." There's a pause between us when I sigh. "It's been a while since I've seenAdriano the Epic."
"Yeah, how has that been?"
"It was great," I admit. "But I haven't talked to him for a few days now. He alwaysdrops off the face of the earth a few days before a hit party so he can make this beastlyentrance. But now it just seems kind of tasteless with all of this going on."
"Adriano is crazy," Reyna reminds me. "I think the recent events amped him up ratherthan calmed him down. But don't worry: when he sees you tonight, he's going to make upfor all the days he didn't talk to you."
Nodding, I smirk. "I mean, Adriano has a lot of side girls he likes. If things don't workout that great between us, I can always resort to giving the ice-cream-cone desk guy achance."
Reyna looks in her review mirror and chuckles. "Yeah, he'll need one."